Chiral integrated catalysts composed of bifunctional thiourea and arylboronic acid: Asymmetric aza-Michael addition of α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acids

Abstract

The first intermolecular asymmetric Michael addition of nitrogen-nucleophiles to α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acids was achieved through a new type of arylboronic acid equipped with chiral aminothiourea. The use of BnONH2 as a nucleophile gives a range of enantioenriched β-(benzyloxy)amino acid derivatives in good yields and with high enantioselectivity (up to 90% yield, 97% enantiomeric excess (ee)). The obtained products are efficiently converted to optically active β-amino acid and 1,2-diamine derivatives.